Perk up customers with excellent product before celebrity endorsement

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 02/12/2023 (686 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WITH the holiday season upon us, now is the time companies typically ramp up their advertising to encourage you to buy their product. One of the ways brands try and stand out is to use a celebrity endorsement. The logic is that using a famous person as a spokesperson can help elevate the recognition of the product that ideally translates to sales.

But is this an effective approach to promoting interest in your product? In my opinion and experience, the answer is mostly no. David Ogilvy, one of the greatest advertising executives, was also not fond of celebrity endorsement for three reasons. Consumers know the celebrity was paid to support the brand, the cost to retain a celebrity can be extremely high, and consumers typically remember the celebrity not the product. I would add that, if a celebrity is involved in questionable behaviour, it may cast a negative light on your product.

In my experience, a celebrity endorsement can be effective when the celebrity is part of the product, as an owner of the brand. Think of Ryan Reynolds and his Aviation American Gin (which he sold for US$610 million). The only successful current non-owner endorsement I can think of is Michael Bublé who appears in commercials for the carbonated beverage Bubly. Clever and funny, you really remember the product, which is the goal of such an endorsement.

Recently, I become aware of Winnipeg-based Writers & Rockers Coffee (W&RC) that crafts unique, and very tasty, coffee blends often with a celebrity connection. Robert Young, owner of W&RC, is a writer who also played guitar years back and became friends with various artists over the years. He was also a new coffee roaster. When the coffee supplier to the 2022 MTV Music Awards backed out at the last minute, Young was contacted to supply coffee for the gift bags. He quickly created a blend based on songs from three western Canadian bands that would be provided for this show and then for the Grammy Awards and Oscars a brief time later. This extra exposure certainly validated the quality of the product of the new company and increased the perceived value for potential customers.

So, he thought “what if…” In a recent conversation, Young told me that one common theme was that both writers and musicians relied on caffeine for a pick-me-up and, more importantly, they all enjoyed a good tasting cup of coffee. When he expands the range of coffee blends, the musicians or their manager is involved in every decision from product to label to social media; they are involved in all aspects of the process. W&RC treats each blend (more than 25) as an individual business partnership between the artist and themselves. What works for one, may not work for another and that is respected. For example, the process to create the “right” coffee blend for the artist may take many iterations until it is perfectly balanced. When you see and taste the finished product the customer can link the two aspects together and understand more about the blend and the artist based on the short story associated with each blend. His connections with Orianthi and Tracii Guns, to name but two rockers, enable the artists to inject their individual personality into the brand.

Young’s success is based on marketing principles you can follow to improve your chances of success.

First, you have to make an excellent product. If the coffee is not that good then no celebrity will be able to rescue the product for long-term success. When you have the product difference and distinctiveness and your customers enjoy it, then you need to make the message interesting as well. Using a song title or literary reference in the coffee name is one way to accomplish this.

Second, ensure deep involvement with anyone you are co-branding your product with. You must know them and trust them if you want to solidify that association. And the product must still be king; not the celebrity. Be confident and prepared to “ride the wave” of the celebrity endorser or make a fast change. Ensure that you have an escape strategy should public scrutiny uncover inappropriate behaviour by your endorser that may potentially damage your brand.

Finally, extend the awareness of your product to new customer segments that you may not have considered. Young was also asked to supply the coffee for the celebrity lounge guests at the MTV Awards. Now that is a fantastic way to get people to do more than talk about your product because they can confirm the value of the coffee as they enjoy it themselves right at the event!

There are numerous ways to promote your product. Leading companies explore all the options, understand what messaging resonates with their customers, and what the trust level is with the company and its messages. Consumers are smart and can see through a shill boosting a poor product. Using these lessons can guide your product development and messaging to achieve your winning game plan.

Tim’s bits: Know what your objective is before seeking a celebrity endorser. Do not fall into the trap of hero worship that will result in the celebrity being more prominent than the product. Keep in mind the value of your product to customers, not the value of the celebrity.

Tim Kist is a Certified Management Consultant, authorized by law, and a Fellow of the Institute of Certified Management Consultants of Manitoba.

tim@tk3consulting.ca